A Leaders Legacy [LIVE] - 07/12/2026

Let's go to Grace Way. It's so good to see you all. It's baptism Sunday here at Grace Way. God's word does not return empty. It accomplishes what God intends. Father, your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. So we come to hear and to receive. God who sows generously among us. We open our hearts to be good soil. God who sows generously. You scatter your word without holding back, trusting it to take root where it can. So as we gather, prepare the soil of our hearts, Father. And clear away what chokes your word in us. And let your truth grow deep and bear good fruit. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Come on, everyone, say amen. Amen. It's so good to see y'all. Whether you're viewing online or you're in person today, we're going to sing about the name of Jesus. There's multiple names, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi. So come on, let me see you clap those hands. If you don't know the song, I want you to listen to the person standing next to you. They might know it. All right? He shames every idol. He reigns without rival. He goes by the name of Jehovah, Jehovah. He speaks into nothing. And darkness goes running. He goes by the name of Jehovah, Jehovah.

Call the name, call the name, call the name Jehovah. All our praise, all our praise, all our praise belongs to him. Come on. His bones will be silenced. He's fighting for Zion. There's no other God like Jehovah, Jehovah. His heart never tires. His eyes are like fire. There's no other God like Jehovah, Jehovah. Come on, if you know it, I want you to sing it out. Call the name, call the name, call the name Jehovah. All our praise, all our praise, all our praise belongs to him. Call the name, call the name, call the name Jehovah. All our praise, all our praise, all our praise belongs to him. Let me see you clap those hands. This is how we praise King Jesus. Jehovah Nisi fights your battle. Come on. Jehovah Nisi fights your battle. Jehovah Nisi fights your battle. Jehovah Nisi fights your battle. That's who he is. Jehovah Nisi fights your battle. Jehovah Jireh meet your need. Jehovah Rapha heal your body. Jehovah Shalom be your peace. Jehovah Nisi fights your battle. Jehovah Jireh meet your need. Jehovah Rapha heal your body. Jehovah Shalom be your peace.

Jehovah Nisi fights your battle. Jehovah Jireh meet your need. You. You. Come on. We're going to introduce you to a new song this morning. It's called For Christ Alone, amen? God knows he's singing with us. There's a lot of demonic spirits that's going around in the world, but those are lies, amen? We believe there's just one that wears the crown who is coming back again. Come on, y'all. Let's sing. He is one who stands between God and man, crucified, but raised back to life again. He's given himself for ransom, all our sins are told, and now our life's forever, to him it all belongs. Y'all believe it this morning? Here's the chorus, sing it out. For Christ alone, we lay down our lives for this gospel until the end of time. All this is for Christ alone. Behold the man whose scars intercede for me. Son of man, exalted as the high king. He's given himself for ransom, all our sins are told. And now our life's forever, to him it all belongs. For Christ alone, we lay down our lives for this gospel until the end of time. All this is for Christ alone. Christ alone Sing it again For Christ, for Christ alone We lay down our lives for this gospel Until the end of time

All this is for Christ alone For Christ alone For Christ alone For you Jesus For Christ alone We worship you Lord For Christ alone Let's make this declaration right here Sing it out The firstborn from the dead Is coming back again Riding in upon a cloud Eyes will see and knees will bow Those other gods are lives Idols who weren't alive But there's one who wears the crown Eyes will see and knees will bow Sing The firstborn from the dead Is coming back again Riding in upon a cloud Eyes will see and knees will bow Those other gods are lives Idols who weren't alive But there's one who wears the crown Eyes will see and knees will bow The Lamb has overcome Testify of the blood When we hear that trumpet sound

Eyes will see and knees will bow Glory to God the Son The victory's in one We await your coming now Eyes will see and knees will bow Behold The King is coming Behold The King is coming For Christ alone For Christ alone We lay down our lives For this gospel Until the end of time All this is for Christ alone For Christ One more time For Christ alone We lay down our lives For this gospel Until the end of time All this is for Christ alone Shout of praise We've come to make much of Jesus today in this place We've come to worship his name today And what a privilege it is to proclaim That our King is coming back, church That our King is coming back

And it is so good to see you all To worship with you all this morning If I haven't met you yet, I'm Pastor Jeremy I'd love to meet you at the end of our service today Out in Guest Central I'll be there with a few of our leaders And if you are new here Please check out this QR code that's on the screen Or in the seat back in front of you We love to just get connected with you And tell you a little bit about what's going on And today, y'all, is a baptism Sunday here at Graceway Yeah, come on! What we're about to see are people Who have given their lives to Christ Who are saying to this body I'm going to follow Jesus for the rest of my life I'm going to show you an example Of what God has already done in me And I'm going to follow him And look, if you have never been baptized If you've given your heart and life to Christ Maybe in the last couple of weeks You've done that in one of our services But you haven't been baptized I want to encourage you to get baptized today And it's as simple as this You just walk right out those doors You tell our team of the Next Steps Hey, I'd like to be baptized

I need to proclaim to the world who I am in Christ And we have everything you could possibly need I promise you won't leave wet, okay? We're going to take good care of you But it's an opportunity for you you and not one that I want you to walk away from, but an opportunity for you to say to this body, this is who I am in Christ. And so church, let's encourage some folks in this room today to make that next step. It'll be absolutely awesome. I'm gonna invite our ushers to make their way down and as we've just sung, the idol of money, it's a lie. And so this is our opportunity to trust God with our stuff, to say, Lord, I'm trusting you with everything that you've provided with me by seeking your kingdom first. And by giving, you can see different ways to give up on the screen. We've got envelopes for you, boxes in the back. Let's go to Lord in prayer as we do that. God, we thank you that we've sung the end of the story today. Lord, that you're coming back. God, to redeem all of this and make it new. And Lord, thank you that we're about to witness even that proclamation in baptism today, that you have taken people, Lord, who were once dead and you've raised them to new life in Christ. And so Father, today we worship you because of that.

We worship you because we get to proclaim those truths and know, God, the end of the story. Thank you for what it means today to be able to give, to be able, Lord, to say, this isn't my stuff, God, I'm seeking your kingdom first with it. And God, we ask for you to bless this offering. And Lord, as we continue in worship, Holy Spirit, please speak to our hearts. Please change us. Please search us out, God, that we would know you more deeply, Lord. Falling in love with you, Lord. So thank you for this opportunity. It's in Jesus' name we pray, and all God's people said, amen. Come on, Grace Way, we're gonna continue to sing about the name of Jesus, this song. Some of us know it, some of you may not know it, but listen to the person next to you. They just might be able to give you some words for the song, okay? All right, so come on, y'all, let's sing it out. ♪ Who is the great King of glory ♪ ♪ Seated on high in the heaven, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Jesus, you alone ♪ Come on. ♪ You are the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Strong in compassion and mercy, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Jesus, you alone ♪ ♪ I've searched the world for a love that could fill my heart ♪

Here's my testimony. ♪ Nothing compares to the wonder of who you are ♪ ♪ Holy are the angels singing ♪ ♪ Holy are the angels crying, oh, oh, oh ♪ You sing it. ♪ Jesus, you alone, oh, Jesus, you alone, oh, oh ♪ ♪ We worship you, Jesus ♪ ♪ You set the stars in the heaven, yeah ♪ ♪ You set the world into, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ You tell him. ♪ Jesus, you alone, oh, Jesus, you alone, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ You breathe your life in creation ♪ ♪ You walked among your created, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Jesus, you alone, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ I've searched the world, I've searched the world ♪ ♪ For a love that could fill my heart ♪ ♪ Nothing compares to the wonder of who you are ♪ ♪ Sing holy, holy, all the earth sing it holy ♪ ♪ All the angels cry holy, Jesus, you alone ♪ ♪ You alone are worthy, worthy, all creation sing worthy ♪ ♪ All the heavens sing holy, Jesus, you alone ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, you alone, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Oh, Jesus, you alone You shed your blood for salvation You broke the curse for our freedom Oh, Jesus, you alone You rose from death with the morning You'll come again in your glory Oh, Jesus, you alone Oh, Jesus, you alone Holy, holy, I sing it, holy Holy angels, my hope Oh, Jesus, you alone You alone are worthy, worthy All creation sings, worthy All the heavens sing, holy

Jesus, you alone Holy, holy, I sing it, holy Holy angels, my hope Oh, Jesus, you alone You alone are worthy, worthy All creation sings, worthy All the heavens sing, holy Jesus, you alone And holy, I can't help but sing, holy How my heart cries out, holy Jesus, you alone You alone are worthy, worthy I lift my voice and sing, worthy I vow my life to tell thee, Jesus, you alone Come on, you sing it. Sing, Jesus, you alone This is one of my favorite Sundays here at Graceway, y'all. It's Baptism Sunday, and we get to witness our brothers and sisters getting baptized today. So come on, let's witness the baptisms and celebrate. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hey, let's pray together, God, thank you so much for the privilege that it is to see people declare their faith in you. Thank you, Lord, for saving people in this church, Lord. Thank you for saving husbands and wives, mommas and sons, fathers and daughters. Lord, thank you for making a new people. Thank you, Lord, for showing up again and again and again. Thank you, Lord, that your word never fails. Thank you, Lord, that you're a strong tower to us, that you're our provider and that you're our protector. Thank you, Lord, that you forgive us and you set us free. Thank you, Lord, for the kingdom that has come. Thank you that the tomb is empty. Thank you, Lord, that your mercy is new and your grace is unconditional. Thank you, Lord, for never giving up on me, for always being who you promised to be. Thank you, Lord, that one day I get to see you. And whether I draw my last breath or you set foot on this, your creation, we pray that your kingdom would come and that your will would be done right here as it is in heaven, in me as it is in heaven. I thank you, Lord, for being who you are. I thank you, Lord, for making me something new. I love you. Thank

you that you love me first. Lord, speak to us now through your word. We're here for you. Let your Holy Spirit move powerfully with authority. We pray against the enemy. Shut his mouth. Crush his head. Show your goodness to us now, Lord. We thank you. We love you. And in Jesus' name, all God's people said, amen and amen. Hey, welcome to church. So good to see you. Why don't you take a couple minutes, pass some peace, and then grab your Alright, fam, are you good today? Come on, you can do better than that. You're in church. Are you good today? So good to see you. So good to see you. Hey, if I haven't had the chance to meet you, my name's Tim. I'm the lead pastor here. Man, honored to have you. If you're a first-time guest, come on church, say hello to our first-time guests. We appreciate you. If you're watching us online, what's up to you? Man, hope that you're doing well and hope to see you soon. And then fellas, brothers, men at Crossroads and at Ozarks, come on church, say hello. Love y'all. Hope you had a great time yesterday at the car show. Let me also just put in front of you, we have literally tens of thousands of y'all watching this service all over the country. If you are interested in us bringing a church to you, putting a church in your prison, talk to your chaplain. You can follow the link behind visitgraceway.org backslash prison ministry. We would love to put a church in your prison so that men behind bars can be free in Jesus. Amen. So we're excited about that. Hey, let me talk to you fellows, some big things coming up at the end of August. You'll see right here behind me, August 29th men's conference is happening. So excited about this. Fellas, this is going to be a really, really, really good day. It's going to be a blessing to you. It's going to be a blessing to whoever you invite. So feel free to get signed up. See that QR code at the bottom. You can hit that. You can send it to everybody that you've ever met. If you don't know what a QR code is, you can go to the next steps test and sign up or you can go to the website and sign up. But fellows, do me a favor. We're ordering an obnoxious amount of food. So do me a favor and don't wait until the last minute to let me know that you're bringing 30 men with you. Amen. All right. Because I want to feed them really, really, really well. So get signed up today and be praying about who God would have you invite. Let me also just give you a quick update on our auditorium. We had a couple of people ask us, are these folding chairs like the plan moving forward?

And the answer is no, they are not. These chairs right here in the VIP section, all this Jesus loving, yeah, they tithed extra to get those seats. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. That's not a thing. These are the new seats and we are planning, as we have been, for this bottom level to be done and the stage to be done and everything to look really nice by 21 days of prayer, which is in two weeks. Auditorium is going to take a little bit longer. It's just a big project. We're also working on the community center right now. So thank you just for your patience around this and thank you for hanging in there. For those of you who stopped coming because you didn't like the chairs, come on, somebody. All right. Two weeks. Actually, forget two weeks. Next week, get back here. All right. And let's worship Jesus regardless of the chairs that we have to sit on. Amen. But hey, in two weeks, 21 days of prayer. So excited about that. We are, yeah, you can give God some praise for that. She's excited. The rest of you apparently are still fussing about the chairs. Amen. All right. Get in your Bible to Acts chapter 20 and let me talk to you here today. So if you go to graceway.app and look at the notes, they aren't going to help you.

I did all my normal prep and all the things that I normally do and in the eight, it just felt like a complete brick wall. So I rewrote the vast majority of the sermon outside the bathroom in the basement. All right. So that could be a terrible omen where that happened. But I got a lot of things that I want to talk to you about today and I think that there's some things that God wants to do and there are some things that the enemy wants to stop. So let's pray and we'll get into it. Lord, I again just ask you to cleanse my heart, to renew my mind. Lord, we need to hear from you and we need what you want to accomplish in this church, for this church, through this church. And so I ask you, Lord, that your word would prevail, that your spirit would be powerful, that the enemy would be defeated, and that your people would be blessed. We love you and we thank you and in Jesus' name we pray, amen. So we're going to finish up the book of Acts next week. We've been in it since the first week in January and I got thinking in between services, why did I feel like God bring us into this series to begin with, this series Unstoppable. And largely it was because all the things that I see in the church in America today discourage me. And when I look at the book of Acts and the church in the first century, not that we are necessary to emulate what happens in the book of Acts, but there are some things that happen in the book of Acts, and I wanted us to be a church that God could be at work in, unstoppably. I want to be a part of that, don't you? To be a part of a place where God's doing something and we're just hanging on for dear life, white knuckling hair, well some of us hair, blowing all over the place, just feeling like man, God is on the move in Raytown, Missouri, I wanted that, and I want that. But in order for that to happen, God has to make certain kinds of people, certain kinds of leaders. You see, we can't have that kind of church if we aren't that kind of people. And so Acts 20 and 21 is an interesting time because Luke is going to put a bit of an Easter

egg in the text. He does this a lot. Long before Marvel was doing it, Dr. Luke and the Bible were doing it, Luke talks about Paul, who's coming to the end of his third missionary journey, and God has told him to go to Jerusalem, and God has told him that from Jerusalem he's going to be sent to Rome and that he's going to die there, that his ministry is effectively over. And Luke uses all of this language that's the same that he would have used in the Gospels about Jesus having his face set to Jerusalem. And so he goes to the book of Acts and he uses almost identical language about Paul. Here's why, because Luke knows that when somebody loves Jesus and walks with Jesus for a long time, they start to look like and experience what Jesus looked like. And my hope around this text and around this series is that God is making us something new, and that over time we are falling more in love with Jesus, and over time we are learning to walk with Jesus, and over time we resemble Jesus in 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. And that when people come here, they can't necessarily name it, but they say there's something familiar about this place. There's something not familiar about this place, but whatever it is, there's a beauty to it that I've got to be a part of. In Acts chapter 8, we're introduced to a guy by the name of Saul. Come on, sis, amen. In Acts chapter 8, we're introduced to a man by the name of Saul, and he's holding coats as the Pharisees are stoning Stephen. And the Bible lets us know that he agreed with the murder, the first martyr of the early church. That's how we meet Saul. In Acts chapter 9, Saul is on his way to kill more Christians, and Jesus intersects his life violently. And I pray that there are people who you are out and about on these streets, and Jesus intersects your life violently, knocks you out of your car like God knocked Jesus or God knocked Saul off his horse.

And he has a Christophany, and God audibly talks to him, and he blinds him, and he puts a call and a ministry on his life. And I pray for some of you that God knocks you off of your horse, your high horse, and calls you to something bigger. We understand for the next four chapters, which represent about 13 years, that Paul, Saul bounces around a little bit. He ends up in Antioch, and 13 years later, in Acts 13, he is sent as the first missionary of the early church, him and Barnabas. And then between Acts 13 and Acts 20, another 10 or 11 years has expired. And so at this point, we are seeing Paul, now the Apostle Paul, for about a 25-year stretch. And his ministry has taken the church from a small Jewish sect to an international move of God. That call that God had placed on Saul's life, it has worked. God did what he said that he was going to do. And now in Acts 20, Luke slows the pace, and we get a bit of a victory lap in some regard, but really a series of goodbyes and farewells. As Paul, understanding that God is taking him to Jerusalem, from which he will go to Rome, and there he will die, he goes back to all the places that he has started. He goes back to this unstoppable church that God has used him to plant. He goes back to these incredible leaders, and he knows that this is not a see you later, that this is goodbye. It's hard for me to get my head around this whirlwind of a quarter century, I'm on my way to kill Christians, and now I am a Christian. I was trained as a Pharisee, and now I'm an Apostle. I was working at the synagogue, and now I'm getting sent from this church in Syria. And now I've gone on three missionary journeys, I've gone all over the known world, I've had my brains beat in, I've been falsely accused, I've had people betray me, but God's still at work, God's still moving, God's still somehow used my life. And now God says, time's up son, I want you to get to Jerusalem.

I want you to say your goodbyes, I want you to spend the last little bit of time with these people who I have created to be unstoppable, who are part of a church that has become unstoppable, and I used you to do it, but your time's up. And I want to talk to you today about the type of leaders and the type of people that I think God uses to bring His kingdom into the present, to make the church unstoppable. And I want to help you before I go any further, because some of you say, I'm not a leader, I'm certainly not a leader in the church, I just got here. To which I want to remind you what I taught you about people like Stephen, and Philip, and Lydia, and Cornelius, and I said it again and again, and you all probably thought maybe I was having a brain aneurysm or something, why does he keep repeating himself? I said Stephen, not a pastor, not a pastor, not a pastor, Philip, not a pastor, not a pastor, Lydia, not a pastor, dream teamer, just showed up, she's an entrepreneur, she was a leader, he was a deacon, the day before he was wiping tables, and now he's giving a dissertation of Jewish history and how Jesus is the center of it, not a pastor. You say, I'm not a pastor, God doesn't have plans for my life, yes He does. You say, I just got here, God has plans for your life, there's calling on your life. Life, there's ministry on your life. You say, I don't know what it is. I know, this is the starting place. But if you're in the room, God has calling for you to bear witness and bring influence of the kingdom of God. And I understand you don't know what that is. That's why we have discipleship. That's why we have growth tracks, that's why we have small groups. But don't tune out now. Because what we see in Paul is the finality of a life surrendered to God and of values that show up,

that create this incredible, unmovable, unstoppable move of God that I believe can and should still happen in 2026. I don't want to look back at the book of Acts and say, those were the good old days. I don't want to look back at the book of Acts and say, wouldn't it be great if. I want it now. I want to be a part of it now. I want to see God change people's lives and knock them off their horse and call them to ministry and send them to places that they've never been and bring the kingdom and change people's lives. I want to see Raytown revitalized and I want to make it hard to go to hell in Kansas City. Actually, I want to make it hard to go to hell in Missouri and Kansas. We talked about this last week. I don't want to be a part of business as usual. But in order for God to create a new church, he has to create a new people. And so here are the type of leaders, three things that need to be true so that two things can be experienced. Are you with me so far? In Acts 20 verses one through 16, we see this about Paul, that kingdom leaders leave people stronger than they found them.

Two values that I want you to see here and then I'll unpack it. One is others over me and the other is finishes over starts. One is others over me. You're more important than me. I prefer you over me. The other is finishes are more important than starts, okay? So after the riot in Ephesus, a lot of us, if a riot breaks out, we're like, I'm out of here, bro. It's from the place in Ephesus that God tells Paul, you're gonna go to Jerusalem, there you're gonna be arrested, you're gonna be sent to Rome and Paul doesn't immediately go to Jerusalem. He actually stops all of the places that had led him to Ephesus. He repeats and retraces his steps and at every place that he goes, he doesn't talk about what God is taking him to and how hard it's gonna be. Rather, he encourages the Christians who are on the ground and in the churches that he has planted some years ago. Now, let me just be honest with you. If God says to me, hey, buddy, you're gonna hop a plane and on the other side of that plane, you're gonna get arrested and then you're gonna be executed for your faith.

Can I tell you, I'm not interested in you. I'm interested in me. And if I happen to bump into you, you are going to hear about where I'm going and what is happening. I am not going to put myself in a posture to slow myself down to say, what's happening with you? Tell me about you. Tell me about what God's doing in your life. Tell me about what God has accomplished through you. And Paul goes to Macedonia and Greece and Philippi and Thessalonica and Berea and Corinth and everywhere he goes, he pours courage into weary believers. He develops emerging leaders. He settles difficult questions. He prepares the church for a future that doesn't involve him. Others over you finishes over starts. The same thing happens when Paul goes to Troas. This is my favorite part of the text. Paul goes to Troas and they give him the opportunity to preach. And the Bible says that he preached until midnight. It's my guy, amen. I'm gonna say amen, even though y'all aren't gonna say amen to that. And the Bible tells us that Paul is preaching in a three-story house. They didn't have church buildings like this.

And so the house is packed and Paul is preaching in the center of it and there's no seats and so people are sitting in the windows. And there's a young man by the name of Eutychus and Paul preaches so long, he falls asleep, kind of like some of you do, even though I'm not preaching that long, all right? And he falls out the window and he dies. And the moral of the story is if you fall asleep in a sermon, God might kill you. Hey, it's in the Bible. Tell me it's not, tell me it's not. And then this is my favorite part of the story. Paul pauses, boop, puts his bookmark there. walks out, raises Eutychus from the dead and goes right back to preaching. And the Bible says that he preaches until daybreak. I was in the room whenever Pastor Jeff Adams preached his last sermon as the lead pastor of Graceway. He did not preach until daybreak. I, however, on my last sermon, will preach as long as I doggone want. That's how long I will preach. We're just going to do one service. It's a marathon. Another thing. Another thing. Another thing. And when I'm out of other things, I'll be done. But what is Paul doing? Paul is saying his goodbyes and he's wanting to make sure that God's people are good before

he leaves. Others over me finishes over starts. Can I tell you, if you're going to be used by God, number one, people have to be more important to you than you think you are to people. If God's ever going to use your life, you have to have a burning desire to bless others, to strengthen others, to leave others better than you found them. Even if you just get a minute in the lobby, leave them better than you found them. If you happen to be in a small group, leave them better than you found them. If you're on the same dream team, lead them better than you found them. If you have the privilege of being a spiritual father or mother through D1 or D2, come on, lead them better than you found them. And we have this interesting thing that happens in our country. We love starts. We love new. We're like the Athenians who spent all day considering something that was new. This is how we look at the world. But the truth is, God is not as enamored with starts as we are. God is enamored with endurance. God is enamored with faithfulness. And kingdom leaders know that we measure success by whether people are stronger when I left them, meaning at the end, not at the beginning. Lots of Christians make lots of commitments. Come on, you did it. I'm going to read the Bible this year, the whole Bible this year. And you made it to the book of Leviticus in March, and then you were done. Lots of you said, I'm going to serve. Lots of you said, I'm going to give. Lots of you said, you made start commitments. And can I tell you, if God's going to use your life, maybe you should make some endurance commitments.

You should make some finishing commitments. You should understand that God has something that He wants you to complete. You should understand that God has fruit that He wants to remain. You should understand that you bearing witness to the kingdom, bringing the future kingdom of God into the present are to strengthen and bless people as you leave them, not just as you see them. Paul's final lap gives us insight into his value system. He's not interested in all the places he started. He's interested in all the places that he started finishing well. Can I tell you, we're very enamored with the day we got married. We're less enamored with how many days we spend together before Jesus comes back or he or she is done. Can I tell you, if you want to change your marriage, think about the end, not the beginning. Think about, my wife talked about this often, us just being two old farts on the beach, farting and giggling together. That's the goal. The goal isn't the day we got married. The day that we finish is the goal. Can I tell you, if you want to raise good kids, yeah, be glad God gave them to you. Celebrate their birthday, but aim at when they leave and how they leave and what they love and what they run from. Do they love Jesus? Has God saved them? Do they love the church? Do they love you? Are they emotionally healthy? Listen, you don't know that at the beginning, but you can invest that toward the end. Can I tell you, if you would stop aiming at the beginning and start aiming at the end, it would change the way you do things. If you would stop aiming at the beginning and start aiming at the end, can I tell you

the reason that we aim at the beginning? Because we like how it feels to us. But the truth is, the end is what blesses others. You finish something faithfully, you finish something well, it's a blessing to somebody else. But it's hard for you to get there, isn't it? It's easy for us to start, and we like that. So we start, and we make commitments, and we do new things, one after the other, after the other, after the other. Imagine what would have happened if Paul says, I started you, you're on your own. But what did Paul do? He goes back. You good? I'm out. You good? You good? You good? Two values. Others over him. He doesn't say, I'm not good. He says, let me talk to you about you. And are you going to be good when I'm gone? Jack Welch, former CEO of GE says the truest test of a leader is when he's done. The truest test of whether or not I've been a good pastor to you is when I'm done and what remains. The truest test, men, of whether or not you are a good spiritual leader is when you're gone. The truest test of whether or not your kids understood is when they're gone. The truest test of whether or not discipleship worked is when it's done. But in order for you to hit that finish line faithfully and well, you're going to have to make it about them and not you. You're going to have to make it about them and not you. Next we see, and this is verse 17 through 38, that kingdom leaders know they are not owners, they are stewards. They are not owners, they are stewards. At Miletus, Paul gathers the Ephesians together, the Ephesian elders. And this is one of the most intimate scenes in all of the book of Acts. It's the only time that Luke allows us to see Paul talking to church leaders. And he's going to give them his theology of leadership. And he tells them that the church isn't theirs. And he tells them that because the church isn't theirs, they need to watch their character, and watch their soul, and watch who God is making them so they can protect what is God's.

And he talks to them about his own character. And then he goes on even further just to illustrate it. And he says in verse 24, I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself if only I might finish my course. He's talking to these leaders and he says, fellas, this church isn't yours. So watch your soul, guard your heart, be a man of character, be a leader of character, because this isn't yours. And the thing that will get in the way of what is God's is you. And then he illustrates it by saying, I'm not even mine. I'm willing to give my life to the only thing that I ask of God is that I might finish my course. He doesn't ask for safety. He doesn't ask for success. He asks God to finish faithfully. And this commitment changes everything. Can I tell you? Can I tell you? Part of the thing that gets in your way of God using you is that you put you over others, and you put starts over finishes, and you think you're an owner when you're just a renter. Let me go down the list, okay? My wife. God's daughter. My kids. Just stewards. You're just a steward. My money. God's money. My work. God's work. My well-being. Listen, everything about you if you're going to be God's leader, if we're going to be the kind of church that has unique kind of people, you got to put others over you. You got to put finishes over starts. And you have to understand that everything about you is not yours. Everything about you is not yours. Your marriage is not yours. Can I tell you why your marriage is struggling? Because you're acting like it's yours. When you stand before God, hear me, you are not going to say, here is my wife, Ashley. You are going to say, here she is. I did my best to help her bloom. Here are the kids that I brought into the world. Nope. Here are the kids that I tried to shoot as arrows to your plans and glory. Here is all the money that I made. Here's all the things that I did. No, no. This is the parable of the talents. Five talents. Two talents. One talent. God, I invested all of this. I stewarded all of this. I pictured all of this as being yours. And I just wanted to finish well so I could be a blessing to others. Can I tell you absolutely everything in your leadership in life that is broken? It's this simple. It's you acting like things are yours that aren't. My dating relationship, not if you're a Christian. My purity, not if you're a Christian. Nothing about you is yours. You were bought by the blood of Jesus Christ. And we have this ownership mentality, and can I tell you, the ownership mentality produces two things.

It produces me over others, and it produces starts over finishes. So Paul says, I understand this isn't mine. I'm just asking that God would let me finish well. Can I tell you, the vision that I think God has for my life is I want to serve you as long as God will let me. And when I'm done, I want to leave you better than I found you. And then I want to spend my life with my wife, and I want to get old together. And I want us to fall more in love with Jesus together, and more in love with one another together. And I want to be surrounded by kids that I poured my heart into, imperfectly for sure, come on. Made so many mistakes. But I did everything that I could, and when I get to the end of my life, I want to like Job, see the goodness and the providence, and the protection of God. And I want to say, God, I don't care where you take me, just at the end of the story, let me finish well with what's yours. Let me finish well. So many Christians not finishing well. So many pastors not finishing well. So many leaders not finishing well. Started great, nobody cares. Finish well. Finish in love with Jesus. Finish in love with your spouse. Finish in love with your kids. Finish in love with the church. What would you need to do today to finish well? And if you don't know the answer, can I tell you, you are vulnerable to not finishing well. Paul says, I do not account my life of any value, nor is precious to myself others over me.

He's doing this farewell tour to make sure they're good, because it's finishes over starts. He says, if only I could finish my course. If only I could do what God put me on this planet to do. If only my character would hold up to the end. If only my values would hold up to the end. Paul doesn't ask for it to go well, or be comfortable, he just says, God, just let me finish well. Just let me finish well. The greatest threat to the church has never been a hostile culture. It's always been who's leading. It's always been the quality of its leaders. Can I tell you, fellas, the greatest threat to your family isn't social media, it's you. Can I tell you, business owners, the greatest threat to your business isn't inflation, it's you. The greatest threat to this church, you know what it is? It's me. It is. If I don't emulate Jesus to you, if I don't teach you God's word, if my character doesn't hold up, the greatest threat is me. It's the pastors, it's the staff, it's the dream team. You're the lid, I'm the lid. And Paul beautifully emulates others, not me, finishes, not starts. And stewards, not owners. And when this happens, when this happens, two things can occur. Number one, you can have a legacy that is marked by obedience, not comfort and not success. This is, this is humongous. This is humongous because, because Paul is sailing towards Jerusalem. Are you all still with me? Paul is sailing towards Jerusalem. He's sailing to, to what he knows is the end.

God has told him suffering is waiting. And at every stop, people plead with him to not go. So here's the picture. About 25 years in, God has used Paul's life and God says to Paul, okay buddy, time's up, get to Jerusalem, here's what's going to happen. And so Paul stops all these places along the way and watch, at every stop, God's people are like, Paul, please don't go. Can I tell you, if I knew that the punchline was my death and I went to church and some people who love Jesus was like, I'm not sure that God wants you to do this. I would say, you know what, I bet you're right. I'll just stay here with y'all, right? Believers in Tyre, Agape. prophesies over him, friends weep, companions beg him to not go, but watch, the Holy Spirit had revealed to Paul that suffering was in his future and had not told Paul to avoid it. God here is not redirecting Paul, he is preparing Paul. You know, our generation of leaders and of church attenders, we have this assumption of what doing God's will is going to feel like. And if we're honest, we know that there will be some sad times and some valleys, but we tend to think that following God, doing the right thing, pushes our life up and to the right. We tend to think that it'll be more good than bad, more happy than sad, more rich than poor, more healthy than sick. And can I tell you, the book of Acts says the opposite. Can I tell you that some of the clearest evidence that you're walking with God is not the absence of hardship, but the presence of costly obedience. Some of you are in a season right now and you are questioning the goodness, the providence, the presence of God because of the circumstances of your life. And if you would read the book of Acts, you would see, no, no, no, God is preparing you for something by helping you not avoid this hard season. But watch, a leader, a person who is others over me, who is steward over owner, who is finish over start, watch, understands this next step of obedience is not negotiable. The same God who called me, the same God who blessed

me, the same God who loves me is calling to something that cost me something. And the question is, am I going to be the type of person who says Jesus is more important than my success, comfort, or well-being? I had the opportunity this week to spend some time with some Bible translators in a part of the world that you've been seeing on the news. I won't say it because we're out on this worldwide web. I talked to two of them and they've been serving God really faithfully. We get to the end of the conversation and I said, how are y'all doing? And the guy got this big smile on his face. And he said, you know, Pastor Tim, I've been serving in this place for 31 years. He says, I've been arrested multiple times. I've had friends who have been murdered. Most people that I know have had their lives thrown upside down. And he goes, and in 31 years, we've seen two people come to Jesus. And I said, wow, two. And he smiled and he goes, but you know, God never promised me success. He just called me to be faithful. Can I tell you, your assumptions of what it will feel like to follow and obey God might be the very thing that is keeping you outside of God's best for you. Your assumptions...and this is what people do. We take a step and go, oh, that didn't feel good. God would never want me to feel like that. No, God wants you to obey. God would never want me to feel like this in my marriage, with my kids, with my finances, with my work, and my well-being. God would never put me in a position to have to trust Him for something bigger than me. And God's up in heaven going, no, that's exactly what I'm doing. Doesn't she understand that I'm preparing her for something? But in order for that preparation to take effect, she's going to have to obey. She's going to have to obey. And so, others over me finish over start, steward over owner, obedience over everything. And then lastly, kingdom leaders rest in God's sovereignty when opposition comes. So, Paul gets to Jerusalem and without warning, it just kind of pops off. Jews from Asia stir up the crowd. They accuse Paul of crimes falsely. And within moments, the city bursts into violence. The temple gates get shut. Paul gets dragged in the street. He gets beaten. Luke tells us that as the mob is beating him, they don't even know why they are. This is a picture of the world.

Right? That sin spreads faster than truth. That emotion overwhelms discernment, and that crowds prefer outrage to evidence. And if you were to take a picture of what's happening in Paul's life right now, it would be chaos, it would be drama, it would be trauma, it would be awful, but you probably would miss sitting at the back of the frame, the still, quiet sovereignty of God in the midst of chaos. Because in the middle of it, Roman soldiers come in and they grab Paul, not because they believe Paul, but because they don't want a bunch of civil unrest. And they put Paul in prison, and they send him to Rome. And the arrest ends Paul's missionary career, but opens the door to Paul's most strategic ministry. You see, from Rome, Paul is going to give the gospel to governors, to kings, to military commanders, and ultimately to the household of Caesar himself. Can I tell you, the very chains that were intended to silence Paul are the means by which the gospel got to Rome. Can I tell you that this isn't the first time that this happens? That there's another story that looked like a defeat, but was definitely a victory? Can I tell you, looked like an injustice, but brought justice in the world? Can I tell you, looked like a death, but gave way to life, not just for Jesus, but for every one of us? Can I tell you, can I tell you, you're not going to like it, I don't know if I should tell you. Sometimes, sometimes, suffering is the only thing between you and God's absolute best for your life. Can I tell you, sometimes, the thing that you think is a closed door, is God rerouting you to another door. Can I tell you, can I tell you, that more often than not, you say, you just said sometimes, I know, I was trying to be nice. More often, more often than not, the worst days are the things that God used the most.

And more often than not, the sovereignty of God is most visible in retrospect, but you're not going to be able to see it while it's happening. What appears to be an interruption is frequently a divine appointment. What feels like a defeat is often preparation. What the enemy intends to use to silence you is the very thing that God wants to use as a megaphone from you and for you. And world-changing people, unstoppable people, are people who say, God, I want to put others over me. God, I want to finish well. I don't want to make commitments and not get to the finish line faithfully. God, I know I'm a steward of everything, that nothing is mine. Not my stuff, not my story, not my very life. God, obedience over everything, in every way, in every circumstance. God, if part of your story for my life is to walk through deep, dark, desperate valleys, God be with me and use them. But as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God, let me learn to put others over myself. Let me learn to finish well, not start well. Let me learn that I'm a steward, not an owner. And let me learn to obey you and trust you when obedience and trust seems foolish. If you read the final verses of Acts 21, it looks like everything has fallen apart. It looks like you should turn the page and the next page should be Romans 1. Okay, I guess the story was over. That's weird. It looked like it was going well and then pfft. But Luke is trying to teach us something. He's trying to teach us how to look at reality differently. The kingdom has never depended on comfort. Paul is not the hero. Paul is just a model of faithfulness in time and place.

And if you're a Christian in here, you know that the kingdom has come. You know that nothing can stand in the way of it. You know that what Jesus intends to do, he does. Amen? My question is, don't you just want to be a part of that? Don't you just want to say to God, God, if your kingdom has come, whatever you got to do to use my life. Yeah, you want me to put others first? Yes, of course. You want me to aim my life at a faithful finish? Yes, of course. You want me to abdicate ownership and give it all? Yes, of course. You want me to obey you in every circumstance, even if it means suffering? Yes, I just want to be a part of what you're doing. I just want my life to matter, not for Wall Street, not for Main Street, for Golden Streets. Come on. I don't want to get to the end of my life and find out that I chose the wrong horse. I don't want to get to the end of my life and find out that my promises weren't kept. I don't want to get to the end of my life and find out that my values were empty. I want to get to the end of my life and say, God, you poured me out and I'm ready to be home. But between this day and that day, come on, God, use us. Come on, God, speak to us. Come on, God, teach us. Come on, God, bless us. Come on, God, lead us. This is the church in Acts. They didn't know what they were doing. Just every day they got up and said, what's up for today, God? What do you want me to do today, God? And in crazy circumstances, they trusted God, sometimes pitifully. And God says, I'll take that mustard seed and I'll move that mountain. What have I hoped that the book of Acts, which we'll finish next week, would do? I hope that it would make us a different kind of church. And I hope that it would make us a different kind of people. People that are desperate to be a part of what God's doing in the world, that can see it as it is, and that are willing to sacrifice whatever it is for their highest affection, joy, and love, Jesus himself. God, I thank you today for the privilege that it is to be a Christian. God, I thank you today for the privilege that it is to be sons and daughters of God. God, I thank you today for the privilege that it is to bear witness of who you are. I thank you today for this Bible that you made certain I got in my language so that I could, today and

tomorrow, open it up and hear from God himself. God, I thank you for prayer and for fasting. God, I thank you for generosity. God, I thank you for discipleship. God, I thank you for all these things of infinite value. And God, forgive us. Forgive us when we haven't valued them enough. Forgive us when we put ourselves over others. Forgive us when we've been enamored with starts instead of finishes. Forgive us when we've acted like we own things that we only rent. Forgive us, God, when we haven't obeyed you because it was hard, inconvenient, or uncomfortable. Forgive us for not believing you when you say, everything about you I will use for your good and my glory, but you've got to give it to me. God, I pray right now that you would be speaking to people's hearts about their loves, their affections, and their lives. You'd be calling them up, calling them into deeper relationship and love and trust and sacrifice for you. God, would you make us this kind of church right here in Raytown, Missouri, for your glory, God, for our good and for the good of our city. We thank you, Lord. We love you. And in Jesus' name, all God's people said, amen and amen. Hey, why don't you stand up? Prayer team, why don't you come on down. Giving box is in the back. Growth Track is in the third service. Church, I love you. I hope you have the best day. I'll see you next Sunday.